Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair, earlier this year we had over 34 meetings of the health committee. We heard 171 witnesses and received 51 informative briefs covering an array of issues, but only one of the 34 meetings that we held over the spring and summer focused on mental health. While it was enough to open our eyes, it was certainly not enough for us to get a better understanding of the urgency of the situation and what we are facing relative to the mental health of Canadians.
In that meeting, we had alarming testimony from Margaret Eaton, the CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association. She said:
We are already seeing signs of a potential “echo pandemic” of mental health issues as a result of COVID-19. Just last week the CBC reported on the surge in demand at CMHA Nova Scotia. It typically receives 25 calls per day, but is now fielding 700 daily requests for mental health support. These requests come mostly from people without a history of mental illness.
She also said that the phones at the CMHA centres across the country “are ringing off the hook”, and this was a couple of months into the pandemic. I can only imagine what that's like now.
There's no doubt that mental health needs to be a priority for all of us right now and we need to have an informed strategy on mental health going forward. Most importantly, we need to act while we still have time, before this crisis becomes worse.
I am by no means suggesting that studying mental health is the only good idea, much less the only key issue surfacing from this pandemic. One of the strengths of the studies in smaller scope is being able to make well-informed, targeted recommendations that will help to make a real impact on the lives of Canadians.
That's why I proposed a motion for the committee to study the impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health and well-being of Canadians, including recommendations that look specifically at understanding the impacts, including the gendered impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health and well-being of Canadians and the impacts on indigenous people, racialized Canadians and vulnerable populations, as well as the availability of mental health promotion programs and supports for those experiencing related mental health stress and anxiety and how to support the offices that are going to be overburdened with this. We also need to understand the effectiveness and availability of virtual mental health services and how our government can assist provinces and territories.
All of us have an opportunity to get ahead of the second pandemic. If we don't take the appropriate steps now to act while we can, the outcome will be on all of us, especially on those who choose to move forward without giving the matter the attention it deserves. I urge my colleagues in committee to support this study for Canadians in my riding, in their ridings and across the country.
Mr. Chair, I move that we resume debate on my motion with respect to studying mental health.